Lexus

NEW DELHI: World' second largest car company Toyota Motor Corporation is set to join the elite club of car makers by launching the Lexus brand in India ? the highest selling global marquee brand. Lexus will be pitted against luxury brands BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volvo and Audi which are already present in India. Keeping an eye on the rapidly-growing demand for luxury vehicles in India and the exciting line-up of products from European, American and fellow Japanese carmakers, Toyota is...

BEIJING: Toyota Motor China will recall 1,880 imported Lexus vehicles in China from next month due to fuel leakage risks. The recall involves Lexus models manufactured between July 3, 2007 and July 12, 2010, according to a statement from the China's General Administration of Quality Supervision , Inspection and Quarantine. Defects in the engine oil pipeline of the recalled cars may cause fuel leakages, the statement said. The car-maker offers to replace the ...

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp. said incoming president Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, will be a driver on the automaker's team in next month's Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany. Toyoda, 52, was announced as president in January?an appointment viewed as symbolic of the Japanese automaker's determination to ride out the global slump and what is expected to be its first annual loss in nearly 60 years. The grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda is...

NEW YORK: Jaguar and Buick surged to the top of J.D. Power and Associates' closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying for the No. 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey. Lexus, Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury brand, took the next spot in the study released Thursday, followed by Toyota's namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura. "Buick and Jaguar both lead the industry...

NEW DELHI: Toyota Motor has revived plans to launch its Lexus luxury brand in India where sales of high-end vehicles have bucked the trend in an otherwise weak auto market by growing at a double-digit pace for three straight years. Toyota sells Lexus across all major markets, with US being the largest. It deferred the plan to bring Lexus here in 2012 because of high import duty and a sluggish local auto market. In the luxury car market — ruled by German majors Audi , ...

Advertising on Instagram has quickly moved from a novelty to a near-daily occurence, and they're churning up a tsunami of "likes" as well as a dose of aggrieved user comments, as reported in Ad Age. General Electric , Levi's, Lexus and Ben & Jerry's have now posted their first ads to the mobile photo- and video-sharing network, which are being targeted to a broad audience, according to a spokesman. (Michael...

NEW YORK: Toyota Motor Corp is recalling about 3,800 Lexus LS sedans in the U.S. to fix a problem with the steering system. The Japanese automaker earlier recalled 4,500 LS models in Japan to address the same steering issue. The company says the recall affects late 2009 and certain 2010 LS 460 and LS 600h sedans. The recall fixes a problem that could cause the steering wheel to become off-center during a specific driving maneuver. Toyota has...

British luxury carmaker Jaguar surged to the top of JD Power and Associates' closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying Buick for the No 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey. Lexus, Toyota Motor's luxury brand, took the next spot in the study released Thursday, followed by Toyota's namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura. "Buick and Jaguar both lead...

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp. has suffered its second high-profile defection in little more than a month after Ford Motor Co. poached a senior executive from the Japanese automaker's luxury Lexus division. The number two US automaker announced late Thursday that it had hired Lexus group vice president Jim Farley, who has spent nearly two decades at Toyota. Farley, 45, will become Ford's head of marketing and communications. "We are thrilled to welcome...

Tweeter Treat A weeks ago, Ad Age and their editorial partner Bluefin Labs started ranking the brands generating the biggest lifts in buzz on Twitter — but with added insight into the role played by national TV advertising and integrations. The rankings showed why that's important for brands to understand. H&M, for example, won a big bump in its Twitter mentions by virtue of a new commercial starring singer Lana Del Rey. The spot had the greatest impact on brand conversation among the chart's top 10...

DETROIT: Toyota Motor held onto its dominant position in annual vehicle quality rankings, which were revamped to highlight design and layout problems that can irritate consumers as much as defects. Toyota and Lexus, the automaker's luxury brand, took the top spot in 11 out of 19 vehicle categories in the survey released on Wednesday by JD Power and Associates. Porsche came in first in the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles. That compared with an...

FRANKFORT: Toyota is about to start making a Lexus model in Kentucky, a move that will create 750 jobs at its massive plant in Georgetown that already employs more than 6,000 workers. Government officials who have been briefed by Toyota executives confirmed the carmaker's decision. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because Toyota wanted to wait until Friday to publicly announce the decision. Toyota has increasingly moved production of certain models to the U.S. as...

Tweeter Treat A weeks ago, Ad Age and their editorial partner Bluefin Labs started ranking the brands generating the biggest lifts in buzz on Twitter — but with added insight into the role played by national TV advertising and integrations. The rankings showed why that's important for brands to understand. H&M, for example, won a big bump in its Twitter mentions by virtue of a new commercial starring singer Lana Del Rey. The spot had the greatest impact on brand conversation among the chart's top 10 brands,...

MUMBAI: Japanese carmakers Toyota and Nissan have put the brakes on their plans to launch luxury brands Lexus and Infiniti in the country, partly because India's free trade negotiations with European Union may make German rivals BMW , Audi and Mercedes much more competitive. Toyota had last November announced its plans to drive in Lexus next year, while Nissan announced its intention to launch Infiniti range in March this...

NEW DELHI: To feed the growing appetite for luxury cars in India, Japanese auto giant Toyota will officially introduce its premium brand Lexus here in 2013 through fully imported route. The company, which is present here through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group , will set up separate exclusive showrooms for selling the cars and sports utility vehicles of the brand. "Lexus is a premium and reputed brand of...

Mercedes-Benz and Audi plan to double their US diesel offerings to attract American luxury buyers ranging from superstar Cher to military man Tom Brown as the technology shakes off its soot-sullied past. Cher tested a Mercedes diesel after rejecting hybrids, while Brown, a 57-year-old retired Navy lieutenant commander, is a buyer. He picked up a Mercedes E-Class diesel in October, his third car powered by the fuel. "I started out with a...

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp. said it will suspend production of some vehicles in Japan for two days later this month to reduce output to grapple with slowing global demand. Toyota will halt production of Lexus luxury models at the Tahara plant, in central Japan, and output of all vehicles at the Miyata plant, in southwestern Japan, on December 24 and 25, company spokesman Toshiaki Hori said Wednesday. The Miyata plant, which makes Lexus cars, Kluger sports utility...

DUBAI: As many as 1,347 Lexus LS460s will be recalled in the UAE amid fears of faulty valve springs that could lead the engine to stall, the vehicle's distributor in the UAE has confirmed. "Following close communication with Lexus Japan, we can now confirm that 1,347 selected 2007-2008 model year Lexus LS 460s are affected in the UAE," said Al Futtaim Motors Managing Director Simon Frith in a statement. Al Futtaim Motors said that it would contact the affected...

TOKYO: Toyota knew two years ago about the engine problem behind its latest Toyota Motor Corp started Monday a global recall over engine defects in its Lexus luxury models sold around the world, as well as the Crown sold in Japan, moving to repair some 270,000 vehicles to replace valve springs _ crucial engine components that are flawed and could cause vehicles to stall. In August 2008, Toyota changed that spring part, making it thicker, to prevent the problem, spokesman...